It's For the Birds Program Resources

Recommended Reading

Woodpecker Wham by April Pulley Sayre illustrations by Steve Jenkins

non-fiction

Grades: Preschool-3rd

Lexile Level: AD320L

Selected because:

Accurate illustrations as well as fun rhythm and onomatopoeia. Simple book accessible to emerging readers, lots of physical and behavioral adaptations to discuss in illustrations. Information at the end of the book explains the details in the illustrations.

Suggested activities:

Compare and contrast different woodpeckers in the book. Why do they have the features they do? How does that help them survive?

Listen to recording of different woodpeckers drilling and calling. Create instruments that mimic those sounds, and use them to make the book a musical.

Students research and choose feeders and food type to set up outside the classroom window or other viewable location. After observing birds for a span of time, students choose one bird to research and create a page similar to those in Woodpecker Wham. Pages can be bound together for a class bird book to share.

Look Up! Bird-watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate

non-fiction

Grades: 3-5th

Lexile Level: 810L

Selected because:

Entertaining guide to birdwatching. Emphasis on observation skills and recording. Information is dense, may be overwhelming for some students.

Suggested activities:

Use for guided observation: read a page as a class, then go outside to practice the skill (eg. Read about beak shapes, observe birds to notice beaks).